Beneath The Surface
by TiffanyNichelle
Summary: Second part of the Only In Dreams Trilogy. Continues from Something Real. Clark/Chloe romantic shipperness. GSOT: Gushingly soap opera type.


Title: Beneath The Surface   
Author: Tiffany/TiffanyNichelle   
E-mail: faison79@earthlink.net or tiffany@breatheagain.net   
Disclaimer: I still don't own nothing   
Archive: The Hallway http://www.breatheagain.net/thehallway   
Spoilers: Mentions events that happened in Hothead   
Summary: Second part of the Only In Dreams Trilogy. Continues from Something Real. Clark/Chloe romantic shipperness. GSOT: Gushingly soap opera type. 

Clark trudged into the kitchen early one morning. Martha looked up from her newspaper in surprise. "You're down early. I thought I was going to have to do my usual." 

"Couldn't sleep. Bad dreams." Clark mumbled as he headed for the fridge. He pulled out the bottle of milk and before he could even open it Martha called out, "Glass." 

Clark obediently went to the cupboard and reached for a glass. He poured half a glass of milk. He gulped it down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Martha glanced over her shoulder. "What kind of bad dreams?" 

"About Chloe and the fire." Clark mumbled again. He put the milk back in the fridge and grabbed the orange juice. This time he poured a whole glass and drank it all in one gulp. 

Something about his tone made Martha turn around completely in her seat to face him. She watched him worriedly. "Are you alright? What went on in your dreams?" 

Clark placed the glass back on the counter. He leaned back against the counter. He chose his words carefully, "They were…disturbing." 

"Do you want to talk about them?" Martha probed gently. 

"You ever have…you ever have one of those dreams that felt like they were real? Like you didn't know it was a dream so you didn't know you could just wake up and come right out of it? Like you were trapped in it?" 

Martha nodded slowly. "Yes." 

"That's what it was like for me all night long. I could see Chloe, I could hear Chloe, I just couldn't reach her." Clark said in frustration. 

"You dreamed about the fire?" Martha guessed. 

"Yeah." Clark nodded. "I had the same dream three different times last night. Each time Chloe yells out the window for me. I see her and I run into the school trying to get to her. Only I keep getting lost and she keeps calling for me over and over. So I try running faster and faster but I'm still lost. Finally I turn a corner and there's the Torch office but I'm too late. I can't get in to save her. The fire doesn't hurt me but something holds me back and I can't get to her." 

Martha got up to embrace her son. "You say you had the same nightmare three times last night?" 

"Yes. Mom, what does it mean?" 

"It's just your fear, honey. You're still scared for Chloe even though the danger has passed." Martha reached up and brushed some hair from his eyes. "It's just because she's such a good friend and you care so much about her. The nightmares will stop soon." 

"How can you be so sure?" Clark questioned. He didn't want to tell his mother that he'd been actually having the dreams ever since the fire a few nights ago. They scared him in a way that few things rarely did.   
  
"I'm not but it seemed like the right thing to say." Martha smiled. "If it's still affecting you this much, then I'm worried about Chloe. How is she handling it all?" 

"Oh, Chloe's handling it _fine_." Clark said in an annoyed voice. "She acts like nothing happened. Seriously. She doesn't talk about it and every time Pete or I bring it up she just changes the subject." 

"That's just her way of dealing with it." Martha offered as an explanation. 

"But is it normal?" Clark asked. "I don't think it's right for her to stuff it all up." 

"Right for who?" Jonathan said as he came into the kitchen. "Clark, the bus will be here soon, you better get a move on." 

"We were talking about the Torch fire. Clark's worried about Chloe." Martha walked over to him. She slipped her arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. 

"Why?" Jonathan frowned. "Something happen to her since then?" 

Clark shook his head. "She just won't talk about the fire." 

"Maybe you shouldn't press her on this, son. She'll talk when she's ready." Jonathan advised. 

"Maybe…" Clark said slowly. "It's just…I don't know, it's really bothering me." 

Martha glanced towards the door. "I hear the bus, Clark, you better get going before you miss it again." 

Clark walked over to the kitchen table and grabbed his book bag from it's spot on the floor. Tossing one strap over his shoulder he said, "I'll think about what you guys said. I'll try not to push her but I'll let her know that she can talk to me. When it comes to the tough stuff I can always talk to her and I want her to know it goes both ways." 

"She already knows that." Martha said in a reassuring tone. 

~*~*~ Clark spotted Pete on the high school steps and made his way through the groups of people streaming into the school. Clark called out. "Where's Chloe? She wasn't on the bus. Is she coming to school today?" 

"Hey Clark, morning to you too." Pete scowled. 

"_Morning_ Pete." Clark amended. "So where's Chloe?" 

"Her dad's bringing her later or something." Pete shrugged, obviously not too worried or interested. 

"Did something happen?" Clark quickly asked. 

Pete shrugged again. "I don't know. Probably not. What's with all the questions about Chloe?" 

"I'm worried about her." 

"You know Chloe. She can take care of herself." Pete assured. "Clark, is this about the fire? Because I'm starting to get her point. She really doesn't want to talk about it and let's just respect her feelings, okay?" 

"Like you said, I _know_ Chloe. She talks a good game and puts up a brave front but come on, if you almost died in a fire wouldn't you be freaked out a little?" 

"Yeah, but that's me. This is Chloe, she thrives on this sort of thing." Pete said. He glanced over Clark's shoulder. "Here she comes now." 

"Hey guys, what's up?" Chloe said strolling over to them. 

"Clark's dying to know why your father brought you to school today. Rescue me, tell him why." Pete begged. 

"He got me a gift. New boots." Chloe said, sticking out one foot in front of her and then the other to show off her boots. 

Clark glanced at her, finally seeing her. As usual, her short blonde hair was flipped up at the ends. She wore her usual long brown coat with the fake fur collar. Under that was short brown suede skirt topped with a skimpy white tank top that ended just above her belly button. On her feet were a pair of knee high tan boots with a thick chocolate stripe running down the sides. The boots had three-inch skinny heels that gave her a height advantage over Pete but still didn't do much to help her out next to Clark. Clark stared at the amount of bare leg that showed between the bottom of the skirt and the tops of the boots. 

"W-Where are the rest of your clothes?" Clark sputtered, his eyes going wide. 

"What's wrong with my outfit?" Chloe frowned and glanced down to see what was bothering him so much. 

"You've got…you've got way too much skin showing!" Clark said. 

Chloe propped her hand on her hip and shook her head. She gestured around the quad at all the other students. "Compared to a lot of the girls here, I'm fully dressed okay, Dad? What's wrong with showing a little skin sometimes? Society goes out of its way to get us to buy into the notion that the less clothes you wear, the happier you are." 

"It's just…You don't…" Clark seemed to be at a lost for words. He just stared at her. She looked…she didn't look like his Chloe. The Chloe he was used to. His gaze drifted down to her boots again, noticing the way they clung to her calves. He looked up again, slowly taking in her outfit, pausing to study her bare navel, then finally up to her face where she quirked an eyebrow. 

"You done?" She said sarcastically. When Clark didn't answer she frowned and looked at Pete. She asked hesitantly, "I don't look stupid right? I got new boots and I wanted to dress up around them." 

"You look fine." Pete shrugged. "Your boots are nice, I guess." 

"Nice? I have got to get some female friends. Or at least someone who can appreciate a good pair of footwear and a nice skirt." Chloe grumbled, her quick flash of insecurity forgotten. She jerked her thumb in Clark's direction. "Is he alright?" 

"I think he may be in a state of shock." Pete clapped his hand on Clark's back. "He didn't know you had a belly button." 

As they chatted around him, Clark remained lost in thought. He figured out why Chloe's outfit had shocked him so much. She looked really…hot. He'd never thought of her in that way. She was Chloe. Not some girl. He never even really occurred to him. And now he was almost drooling just because a pair of new boots that hugged her calves like a second skin. Drooling? Clark quickly caught that thought. He didn't _drool_ over Chloe! 

"Hey Clark, you ever going to come back to us or did I scare the crap out of you?" Chloe laughed. "Should I keep my coat closed? I wouldn't want my belly button to frighten you any more." 

Clark shook his head to clear his thoughts. He tried to focus back on their conversation but he came back to the boots. "Why did your father give you boots?" 

Chloe shrugged. "He knows they're my weakness and he wanted to give me something to make me feel better because of the fire." 

Pete reeled back in shock. He clutched his heart in one hand and Clark's arm in the other. "Oh my God, she said the f-word!" 

Clark grinned. "She did, didn't she." 

"And her head didn't explode." Pete said in amazement. 

"What are you guys talking about?" Chloe laughed. 

"You actually mentioned the fire." Pete said. "Forbidden subject numero dos." 

Chloe looked from Clark to Pete. She narrowed her eyes. "And _what_ is forbidden subject numero uno?" 

"Clark's love jones for Lana Lang, of course." Pete told her. 

"Uh, you guys talk about that all the time." Clark pointed out. 

Chloe held up a finger. "_But_ we don't say anything about it in front of Lana." 

"Yet." Pete added with a grin. 

Clark worked his jaw. They loved getting on him about his crush on Lana and most of the time he was content to let them. But then there were times when he just didn't want to talk about it. It was bad enough without his friends making it into just a big joke. 

Clark nodded at Chloe and tried to steer the conversation back to Chloe. "So does the fact that you're actually able to say the word fire means you're willing to talk about it?" 

Beside him he could hear Pete groan. Chloe shrugged. "There's nothing to talk about. Crazy fire. You saved me. I got new boots. That's about it. I don't really appreciate you making it into some big deal because it isn't. I'm okay Clark. I'm not going to suddenly…meltdown or something." 

Clark searched her face for signs that maybe she wasn't telling the truth but she just tilted her head to the side and stared back. There was nothing there. He wasn't satisfied though but he would let it slide. He said resigned, "I just…I worry about you. You're my best friend." 

"Ahem." Pete coughed. 

"_One_ of my best friends." Clark amended. "I want you to be okay." 

"And I am." Chloe said earnestly. She took his hand between hers and squeezed. 

"Hey Clark. Hi guys." Lana's cheerful voice floated over to them as she strolled in their direction. 

Clark lifted his hand in greeting. "Hi." 

Lana smiled brightly at them before laying her hand on Clark's arm. "Clark, I was hoping I could talk to you." 

"Alone?" Chloe asked. "Don't mind me and Pete. We were just about to go in." 

"We were?" Pete said, confused. 

"Don't leave without me, guys." Clark said. "I'll be back in a minute." 

He motioned with his hand for Lana to walk a few feet away with him. Lana glanced back over her shoulder and called out. "Nice shoes, Chloe." 

Chloe smiled thinly, "Thanks." 

Once they were out of hearing range Clark stopped and faced Lana expectantly. "What's up?" 

"You're going to be disappointed in me, Clark." Lana began. 

Clark cocked his head to the side. "Why?" 

"The revolution? The rebellion? It's dead." Lana said mournfully. 

It took Clark a moment to connect what she was talking about. "You rejoined the cheerleading squad." 

Lana nodded. "Yup. I feel so silly about going back though." 

"Why is that?" 

"I make a big deal about going and finding something that's me and as soon as I lose one job I run back to the safety of the squad." Lana twisted her mouth. 

"Waitressing wasn't your thing." Clark pointed out with a grin. "Well offensive waitressing maybe." 

"I think you're right." Lana laughed and nodded. She brought her hand up to her neck and dropped it a second later. "I keep forgetting it's not there." 

"What's not there?" Clark asked. 

"My necklace. I kept misplacing it so I decided to only wear it on special occasions. I would hate to lose it again. But I'm so used to playing with the chain that I still reach for it." 

Clark nodded slowly. He'd known she wasn't wearing the necklace the moment she'd gotten close to him. It was wrong but he was secretly glad she wasn't wearing it anymore. It was hard to hold a conversation with her when the meteor made him sick enough to vomit. 

"Are you back with the squad for good?" Clark asked. 

"For now." She said. "Until I can find something that I actually like to do. And what about you? Are you ever going to rejoin the football team?" 

Knowing that Lana would be back on the sidelines cheering again made the idea sound awfully tempting but Clark still shook his head no. "Organized sports and me, we don't get along." 

"Maybe it was just football." Lana suggested. "You should try out for the track team." 

"Well, I do like to run…" Clark murmured. He casually glanced over to see if Chloe and Pete were still waiting for him. He frowned and blinked when he saw the way Chloe was watching him and Lana. She was frowning and there was a strange unexplainable emotion on her face. Suddenly Chloe grabbed Pete by the arm and pulled him with her as she marched into the school. Clark frowned again when he saw more than one boy stop and look at Chloe. 

"I guess they decided not to wait for you after all." Lana said behind him. 

"I guess." Clark agreed. What was up with Chloe? 

~*~*~ "I love Taco Fridays." Pete said to Clark. "You never know what the heck they put in here and figuring it out is half the fun. You have noticed the strange decline in the squirrel population lately, right?" 

"What's up with Chloe?" Clark asked without preamble. He pulled out a chair from the lunch table and straddled it. 

Pete groaned. "No, no, not this again. Did you suddenly develop a case of amnesia during last period? We went over this with her. She's fine about the fire." 

"Not that." Clark said. "She had the weirdest look on her face this morning." 

"Oh, was that when you couldn't stop staring at her?" Pete asked with a sly grin. "Finally figured out that she was a girl huh?" 

Clark blushed. He couldn't believe it himself how he couldn't stop looking at her. "I wasn't talking about that. I meant when I was talking to Lana. I couldn't figure out what it was. Did she say anything to you about it? Was it because of Lana? She doesn't like her or something?" 

Pete picked up his fork and started to scoop meat out of his taco shell. He tried to say casually. "Don't ask me, ask Chloe." 

Clark narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You know something don't you?" 

Pete focused intently on the mess he was making of his lunch. "I don't know anything, really. You should just talk to Chloe." 

Clark had a feeling that Pete knew more than he was saying. "If it was just that Chloe didn't like Lana, you'd tell me that. There's something else." 

"Don't know what you're talking about…" Pete murmured. 

"If she doesn't have a problem with Lana," Clark thought out loud, "then does she have a problem with me?" 

"Good God." Pete muttered. He pushed aside his tray and looked at Clark. "You're going to drive me nuts before the day is over. I'm used to it coming from Chloe but you, it's even worse. Jeez, you see her in one really short skirt and you flip out. Of course it's probably been building since the fire. You save her life, realize holy crap someone I really care about almost died, and then you're left with all these confusing feelings to sort out. Only you don't want to cause it probably scares you." 

What in the world was Pete talking about? "What are you talking about?" 

"This newfound, I don't know, crush on Chloe? Why you can't stop talking about her nonstop? Why your eyes bugged out of your head this morning." 

Clark shook his head and forced out a laugh. Pete didn't know what he was talking about. Him? With a crush on Chloe? He could barely handle the one he had on Lana. And it made no sense for him to have a crush on Chloe. She was his friend. Even though she looked damn good this morning. 

Clark said. "I have no idea where you come up with these things." 

Pete shook his head and reached for his tray again. "Whatever man." 

Clark shook his head also. "You really when out on a limb—wait, what did you mean about being used to it coming from Chloe?" 

Pete froze suddenly then he shrugged casually. "Nothing, I was just talking. Hey, this is the Mystery Meat from Wednesday!" 

"How can you tell?" Clark glanced down at the sloppy meat. 

"Cause it has that greyish tinge to it that the mystery meat always has. Meatloaf, my foot. What the hell are they feeding us?" 

"Never mind that. If you were just talking, why would you even mention Chloe?" 

Clark was trying to wrap his mind around it. If Pete meant what he said then Chloe had a crush on him. Clark was having trouble with that because he wasn't that dense. He would have known if Chloe had a crush on him. 

"Why don't you go talk to Chloe instead of sitting here with me. She has all the answers you want." Pete suggested. 

"I think I'm going to do that after all." Clark reached down into his backpack and pulled out a brown bag. He tossed it to Pete. "Here you can have my lunch. I figured out awhile ago not to even bother with Taco Fridays." 

"Thanks." Pete said, digging into Clark's bag. He pulled out a ham and cheese sandwich and unwrapped it quickly. 

"You got any idea where Chloe might be?" Clark asked. 

"Probably at the Torch overseeing the cleanup and generally getting in the way of the janitors." Pete said around a mouthful of ham, cheese, and white bread. He swallowed and continued. "You know Chloe, her way is the only way."   



End file.
